LIMS - Material Specifications

Table of Contents

Purpose

The Material Specifications module is used to define and create specifications for different materials that can then be referenced in DIY Forms and Reports. Each specification can contain one or more Variants, and each Variant can contain multiple value specifications.

In MetaField 2.13 the only specification type present is the Sieve Test, with additional specification types coming in 2.14.

How To Set Up Material Specifications

Sieve Test Set Up

Step Number	Description	Example
1.	Navigate to 'Administration/ LIMS / Samples/ Material Specifications' and click on the Add Specification button. Specifications can be added to a pre-existing Material Specification at a later time. If the Material Specification has no active records the Specification will be added to all test forms which contain the Material Specification. If the Material Specification does have active records, the Specification will be added to new test forms that use the Material Specification, but WON'T be added to previously filled out forms.
2.	Enter the desired information for the specification: Name: Name given to the specification. Specification Type: The type of test that the specification is associated with. Enable Tolerances: If toggled to Yes, then test results can be compared against an expected value within an allowable range. Materials: The material types that the specification is associated with. Each specification can be associated with one or multiple material types. Specification Value: The value/parameter that the specification is going to use to evaluate measurements. Note - Multiple Material Specification with Sieve Size Specification Type on Test Form can be added only if it has at least one common Material & same Specification Value
3.	Add and name the variants that you would like to use inside the specification. Note you can always add more variants at a later time. Each specification can have multiple variants. The common thread between the different variants inside a specification is the Specification Value, which will be the same across all the variants. The Reorder Variants button allows for the Variants display order to be changed.
4.	Enter the Sieve sizes that will be used by the variant and assign the limits and operators that they will be using. Precision: Represents how many decimal places will be used when assessing the value against the upper and lower limits. Rounding: Currently doesn't impact how the calculations are rounded.

Setting Up A Form To Use Material Specifications

Step Number	Description	Example
1.	Navigate to 'Administration/ LIMS / Samples/ Test Forms' and select the Test Form that you would like to associate with the Material Specification.
2.	Click on "Form Settings" and make sure the form has at least one of the same Test Material types as the desired specification. Click on the edit button and select the Material Types if they are not already selected then click save. Note: Make sure you choose the value that has (Global) listed after the material type, if you select the non global version you won't be able to apply your specification.
3.	Now that the form has associated materials we can add the Material Specification form setting. Click add, choose material specifications from the drop down, and select your specification(s) from the list. Click save on the Material Specifications screen and click save on the form settings dialogue box. If you don't see the expected Material Specification(s), it's either: an issue with the Test Material form setting, or the materials associated with the specification.
4.	Once you've successfully added Material Specifications to a form you'll see the 'MaterialSpecificationFields' listed in the data grid. Another data grid will also be listed below the normal fields grid. This data grid contains the fields that will be used specifically for the Material Specifications section of the form. Additional fields can be added as needed. Fields that are added to the forms from a material specification cannot have settings applied to them unless the Is System configuration is disabled.

Entering Material Specifications On A Form

When on a form that utilizes Material Specifications, you'll have to select the specification and Variant values before the proper fields and specification records will load on the form.